Estêvão Willian had the rare opportunity to play his last game for Palmeiras against the club he is about to join; Premier League outfit Chelsea. The Brazilian wonderkid made a great impression despite being on the losing side as Chelsea won the FIFA 2025 Club World Cup quarter final fixture 2-1.

Chelsea 2-1 Palmeiras

On the evening of July 4th in Philadelphia, the former capital city of the United States, there were fireworks both on and off the pitch. 65,000 fans decided to attend Lincoln Financial Field to witness Palmeiras take on Chelsea and young Brazilian talent Estêvão take on the club he is about to call home.

Estêvão Willian has already signed for Chelsea in a deal that could be worth a whopping total of $70 million with bonuses and add-ons. However he agreed to stay with Palmeiras for the FIFA 2025 Club World Cup campaign, and on Friday night in Philadelphia he was very set on knocking his future employer out of the tournament.

Chelsea won the quarter final 2-1 in the end, but Estêvão, who was nicknamed ‘Messinho’ meaning ‘Little Messi,’ scored the only Palmeiras goal. Perhaps even more importantly; Estêvão showed some qualities beyond the goal-scoring that can make him a success in the Premier League.

Estêvão Is Ready For His Big Move

Estêvão is ready for a move that is years in the making. As a teenager he was touted as the next big thing in Brazilian football, a tag that is not easy to live up to, but Estêvão is keeping on the right track. Many top clubs courted his signature as a 15 year-old boy, but in the end he signed a deal that would see him move to Chelsea this summer when he turned 18.

I have seen Estêvão play live before, and I have watched him closely in some of Palmeiras most important games in Brazil and South America, but I don’t think I have been as impressed by him as I was on Friday night, for a few reasons.

Firstly, this was one of the biggest games he has ever played in. For Brazilian fans the Club World Cup means everything and to compete against a top European side makes it all the more special. Not least because Chelsea defeated Palmeiras in the 2021 Club World Cup final. Palmeiras fans wanted revenge in this game, and they expected Estêvão to provide the spark in order to find it. Estêvão did just that with his stunning second half equaliser.

Palmeiras suffered in the first period and Chelsea could easily have built up more than a single goal lead. The Brazilians stayed in the game without creating too many clear opportunities and in the end Estêvão created something out of nothing to send the fans wild, with a driving shot from a tight angle that ricocheted in off the woodwork. A shot most wouldn’t have taken on. The replay didn’t look fantastic from a goalkeeping perspective but all credit to Estêvão for his thunderous effort in a game where the Brazilians only managed two shots on target.

Fit To Fight Against The Best

Estêvão is a magical winger and that is why Chelsea paid so much money to bring him to the club. It’s no surprise that he is technically gifted or able to create special moments. However what was both fascinating and pleasant to see was how Estêvão dealt with facing Marc Cucurella; a top-level full-back and a formidable opponent in every one-on-one battle.

The pair went head-to-head for 90 minutes, enjoying a fierce clash on the flank and often covering their mouths with their hands in order to ‘trash talk’ without letting the cameras know what they were saying. Those chats were plentiful and no love was lost in various challenges.

Of course Estêvão has faced big battles and strong opponents in South American football, but Cucurella is the Chelsea and Spain left-back. He has proved he is a winner at the top level and a fearsome adversary on the pitch. He is characterised by his ability to frustrate and shut down his opposite number and he is also a master of the dark arts when the referee isn’t looking.

There was no obvious winner of this battle on the night and that was the most impressive thing about Estêvão’s performance. If anything can be thrown his way in terms of criticism it would have to be his slender figure and lack of physical presence, but on Friday night this boy showed he was up for the fight, and capable of making it an even one.

On the second occasion that Estêvão received the ball in front of Cucurella, he drifted inside the pitch. Cucurella followed and began to lean into the Brazilian to slow down his advance. At this point I believed that Cucurella would rob the ball from the winger and easily muscle him out of the way, but it wasn’t so.

Estêvão kept calm, felt the presence of the defender, leant into him and continued to bring the ball inside, holding Cucurella off. One, two, three strides more. Cucurella is always relentless in his pressing but Estêvão kept gliding until he reached the centre of the pitch and then popped a pass out to the left flank. The Spanish defender ‘left one on him’ in that moment. A friendly reminder of his presence after Estêvão released the ball.

Comparisons With Neymar

The way Estêvão was able to dribble with the ball, hold off the defender and calmly pick out his pass in that moment wasn’t game-changing or revolutionary, but it reminded me of Neymar and showed a level of physicality that you wouldn’t think young Estêvão possesses.

The first time I watched Neymar live I was taken aback by his ability to not just dribble past players, but to put up with having two or three of them on his back, often fouling him. The Brazilian would still keep control of the ball, shrug them off and advance up the pitch. The best make it look easy at times, to the extent that we don’t fully appreciate the balance of strength and skill.

Estêvão battled with the dogged Cucurella for the rest of the game, and he even left a late tackle in on future teammate Levi Colwill. The likes of which Cucurella would be proud of. There was certainly a physicality and a fighting spirit on display from Estêvão; the sort I haven’t seen before, and certainly not against a defence of this calibre.

Estêvão didn’t have tonnes of moments of individual quality in the game, but we know he has that in the locker. What he showed in terms of his mentality and bravery was fantastic to see though. Drawn into the Cucurella dog-fight he held his own, showed that he isn’t as skinny as he looks, gave some back and came away with a goal.

Returning to the comparisons, earlier this year Estêvão became the first player to hit 30 goal contributions before his 18th birthday in Brazil since Neymar did so in 2010. A lot of big names have come through the Brazilian league system in the last 15 years but evidence on paper and at this Club World Cup suggests that Estêvão’s ceiling could be higher than the rest. Whether he can hit the heights of the finest Brazilian player of the last two decades is another question and it might be another two decades before we have the answer.